Millions of “General Hospital” viewers will gather this week to mark the passing of iconic “General Hospital” actress Jacklyn Zeman and her equally iconic character, nurse Barbara Jean Spencer. Zeman’s death last May at age 70, after a brief bout with cancer, shocked friends and fans alike. As the residents of Port Charles come together on Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 10 and 11 to pay tribute to the character and her portrayer, Kin Shriner (who as Scotty Baldwin, worked with Zeman for 46 years) is remembering his friend. The two struck up an enduring friendship shortly after the show’s new executive producer Gloria Monty hired Zeman in 1978, who was fresh off a one-year stint playing party girl Lana McClain on “One Life to Live.” Viewers were shocked when Lana was deviously knocked off via a sleeping pill laced glass of milk by her lover, Llanview’s resident lothario Brad Vernon, the 1970s-era Todd Manning of the show.

Adding Zeman and the scheming Bobbie Spencer to the mix were all a part of Monty’s genius plan to save the soap, then languishing at the bottom of the ratings. Monty’s other notable hires during her life-saving on-air surgery included Leslie Charleson, Stuart Damon, Jane Elliot and Hollywood veterans David Lewis and Anna Lee as the dysfunctional, forever-battling Quartermaine family and later, a guy named Anthony Geary, as Bobbie’s older brother Luke.

Bobbie was brought on to get in the middle of the young romance between Shriner’s budding by-the-book law student Scotty Baldwin and his teenage love interest Laura Vining Webber, played by a just-hired Genie Francis.

Late last year, following the taping of the emotional scenes saying goodbye to his longtime friend and castmate, Shriner walked outside of the studio with Billy Hoffman, a member of the G.H. wardrobe department and were greeted by a rare rainbow overhead in the Los Angeles sky.

 “Jackie and her rainbows were legendary,” says Shriner. “Whenever she would move, the first thing she did was paint a rainbow in the kitchen. When I walked outside with Billy and we looked up, it felt like Jackie was right there with us.”

In the following exclusive interview with Eldredge ATL, Kin Shriner discusses some of his favorite memories of his longtime friend, including ditching the FBI on his motorcycle, the pair running into Johnny Carson and their last New Year’s Eve spent together. Shriner also previewed what fans can expect as the soap says goodbye to one of its most enduring and influential characters.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Eldredge: Last night I watched the scenes with you, Lynn Herring, Jon Lindstrom and Genie Francis receiving the news of Bobbie’s death and toasting her. I was in tears. I can’t imagine what it was like to have to play that after speaking at Jackie’s funeral in real life.

Shriner: It was not fun. As an actor you were thinking, ‘This is too close to home.’ I don’t really want to have to play these scenes but they needed to be played because we had to pay tribute to the Bobbie character. We wanted to make sure it was played for the fans and so they knew we understood that Bobbie was gone. It was tough.

Eldredge: I’m thinking as longtime castmates playing those scenes, it must have brought you closer together.

Shriner: It has. At the memorial, the four of us gave eulogies and each person has a different slant on the character. It was challenging. We hope that all the bases were covered for Bobbie as well as for Jackie. I was with her on New Year’s Eve [2023] and I still can’t believe she’s gone. We had the time of our lives that night and I had no indication nor did she that anything was wrong. It all happened so fast.

Eldredge: I want to take you back to 1977 when you were hired and Genie had just come on and the show is on life support. They bring in Gloria Monty who quickens the pace, makes the show an hour and among her new hires is Jacklyn Zeman. Monty then positions you three centerstage. That’s a lot of pressure to put three young actors in. Was that the beginning of your 46-year friendship?

Shriner: Yes. I was hired when we were still live on tape which meant at 2 o’clock you started taping at and 2:45 you were done. Gloria came on and took the show to an hour. The writers had a hurricane come through the town and Genie and I were riding out the hurricane in this storm shed. We had been on our way to a concert to see Lead Balloon (laughs). I wasn’t allowed to say Led Zeppelin. I still remember that like it was yesterday. When we came out of that shed, Gloria had brought on these actors to fix the show — Stuart Damon, Leslie Charleson, Jane Elliot and of course, Jackie. It worked. From 1978 to 1979, “General Hospital” went from number 18 [in the ratings] to number one. This was even before Tony [Geary] came on. Jackie spearheaded all that because when Bobbie Spencer came on, she was a little firecracker. She was this girl from the wrong side of the tracks who had this agenda of getting me away from Laura and marry me. [Legendary soap scribe] Doug Marland was writing the show and really wrote her and everybody else really well. The fans ate it up. Her character was what turned “General Hospital” around in the late ‘70s. Suddenly, everybody was watching.

Eldredge: Let’s dig into just how well Bobbie was being written and how well Jackie was playing her. At one point, she has Luke ripping out Scotty’s carburetor so Laura misses curfew and is sent to reform school. Off camera, Jackie had to have FBI bodyguards assigned to her because angry viewers were sending death threats through the mail, a federal crime. You had a motorcycle at the time and suggested you two take a ride.

Shriner: I did and we did. (laughs).  I threw her on the back of my motorcycle and she said, “Well, the FBI is going to follow us.” So I said, “Let’s see how good they are. Let’s see if we can shake ‘em!” Jackie was all for it. When we got back, we were called up to Gloria’s office and got yelled at —“Honey, the FBI is here for a reason…” We got in trouble for that. But I don’t think Jackie ever took it too seriously that she was in any real danger. Any actor getting that much hate mail is doing something right. Sure, Bobbie started out as diabolical but Jackie created this character who became one of the show’s most-loved characters.

Eldredge: For me, Luke and Laura’s wedding in 1981 was all about one moment — Scotty’s unexpected return and catching that bridal bouquet. When Scotty came back, he was now this morally dubious character and it was the beginning of Scott Baldwin we know and love today. Can you talk a bit about that pivotal trajectory?

Shriner: It felt like the natural place to go with the character. Scotty Baldwin stood for everything that was right. He was the son of Lee Baldwin, a well-known lawyer, a kid who wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. He marries his high school sweetheart and then she gets raped and runs off with the rapist. Why would you not come back a little disgruntled, a little angry, a little pissed off at the world? What else would I play at that point? And since I couldn’t get Laura back, all of a sudden I’ll take the bad girl — Bobbie Spencer or Heather Webber or Lucy Coe. The women who came Scotty’s way were all troubled as well.

Eldredge: Over the decades, you and Jackie shared hundreds of hours of screen time. What was she like to work with as an actor and scene partner?

Shriner: She was so much fun. She loved being Bobbie Spencer. Way back, we had a bed scene together and her [breast] fell out. I remember thinking, “Uh-oh.” She didn’t realize it. Finally, they yelled cut and she asked, “Why are we stopping?” When I told her she just said, “Whoopsie,” laughed and adjusted herself and we went right back to work. Jackie was very unfazed. She was a trouper. She was just fun. That’s why we were such good friends and hung out so much. She was always ready to jump on the back of my motorcycle or go on my boat. As an actor, she was exactly the same. She was this spirited individual who you could go head to head with and it was always going to be good. You knew she was always going to deliver the goods in any scene you had together. Her game was tight.

Eldredge: As you’ve mentioned, the two of you hung out a lot together off-camera. What are some of your favorite moments looking back?

Shriner: We did a play together for six weeks directed by our acting coach. We did “Love Letters” together. There were a lot of long pieces of dialogue I wanted to cut. Jackie didn’t bat an eye. She went with it. When she was living in Marina de Rey, I loved my boat and once a week we’d go to the Chart House [restaurant] and have these beautiful lunches and dinners together. Nobody had as much spirit as Jackie. One time when we were together, we saw Johnny Carson at the gas dock by my boat. I said, “Jackie, that’s Johnny Carson.” And she said, “Let’s go talk to him!” So we did. She was one of my favorite people to be around.

My belief is when people come home at night and they want to go to this little town of Port Charles, they want to have fun. They want to be entertained. So I’m there with my pocket square and my tie clip waving people off. That’s what they signed up for. Why not give it to them?

Kin Shriner

Eldredge: The show has a two-day tribute to Jackie airing this week. Without giving anything away, what can you tell us about what to expect?

Shriner: I know Scotty has a eulogy and I have some scenes with Lucy talking about Bobbie leading up to the memorial service. I’m not exactly sure how it will all fit together when it airs. I’m hoping the audience will be pleased.

Eldredge: I would be remiss if I didn’t ask about this new story with Lucy and Scott cooking up a scheme against Tracy Quartermaine, who of course is played by Jane Elliot, who’s back on the show. As a 48-year viewer, I don’t even care where this is going just as long is Tracy is throwing drinks in Scotty’s face and I get to see three of the show’s vets in action together. I’m here for it.

Shriner: We’re right there with you! We are totally all in. It’s great that for the last few weeks, we’re back scheming and plotting. I’ve always said the audience wants to have a good time. I’ve always believed “General Hospital” got on the map in the late ‘70s and ‘80s because of the camp. They brought on the Quartermaines who were right out of those old TCM movies. You had this rich family and butlers and the whole thing. It felt like a throwback to the old Hollywood screwball comedies. For me, I’ve always loved going that route. When I get together with Lynn and Jane, that all comes back. That’s what the audience loves. Those capers, that humor.

Eldredge: I love all of the quirks and mannerisms you’ve given Scott Baldwin over the decades. His “I’ve got a little news flash for ya” sounds like some slickster lawyer speak from a 1940s Warner Bros. film and Scotty’s signature wave-off has even generated its own meme online.

Shriner: (laughs) A lot of that comes out of [Turner Classic Movies] because I live on that channel when I’m at home. That kind of comedy and comedic timing really appeals to me. For example if [on set] I say, “What in Sam Hill are you saying to me?” sometimes I’ll get stopped and told, “Kin, nobody knows what that means.” My argument is always, “The fans who know this character will get it and enjoy it so bear with me.”

Eldredge: You’re right. As a longtime viewer, that’s the stuff I love. Last week, you had these scenes at Kelly’s Diner where Scotty has broken up with Liesl Obrecht and he’s eating his feelings by ordering the entire left side of the breakfast menu. So multiple characters have to come by your table and try to interact with you while you’re conducting all of these hilarious pieces of business with these overflowing plates of food.

Shriner: (laughs) I ate that up like Scotty ate up those pancakes. I took that and ran with it, trust me. In a scene like that, I say, “I gotta Scotty this up a little. Can I have some freedom here?” So I got more pancakes and more syrup. My belief is when people come home at night and they want to go to this little town of Port Charles, they want to have fun. They want to be entertained. So I’m there with my pocket square and my tie clip waving people off. That’s what they signed up for. Why not give it to them?

Eldredge: As we watch these emotional episodes this week paying tribute to your castmate and friend Jacklyn Zeman, what should we be putting in our glass to toast her and what kind of brownies should we be baking?

Shriner: Jackie baked me brownies each year for my birthday. That was her thing. It was a tradition. Jackie wasn’t a big drinker but she might have a glass of white wine. She was just fun to be around. Like I said, last New Year’s Eve we sat in my car for an hour and a half talking about the show and the history. I had no idea that would be the last time we would have that kind of conversation. She loved to remember the fun we had and all of the antics back then. It’s incredibly sad that we don’t have her here with us any longer. I just hope her daughters are pleased and that the fans are happy with this tribute we did for her. If Jackie is up there looking down, I hope she’s happy that we did our best.

The two-day “General Hospital” tribute to Bobbie Spencer and Jacklyn Zeman airs on ABC and Hulu Wednesday, Jan. 10 and Thursday, Jan. 11. You can follow Kin Shriner on X and Instagram.

Richard L. Eldredge

Richard L. Eldredge is the founder and editor in chief of Eldredge ATL. As a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Atlanta magazine, he has covered Atlanta since 1990.